MTL - Monster Factory - Chapter 24 : Race against time

You’d think seeing the future would give me a head start on surviving the apocalypse. I had it all planned—until everything I knew shattered when my husband sacrificed himself to save me and our son. Now it’s just me, my three-year-old son Leo, and my cursed gift of foresight that only seems to kick in when it’s nearly too late.I’m doing my best to keep us safe, to find food, to make some kind of plan—“Mommy?”I glance down, trying to ignore the tug on my pant leg as I focus on our supplies. “Not now, Leo. Mommy’s thinking.”“Mommy!”I sigh and finally look down. My three-year-old is standing there, clutching… I blink. “Leo, where did you get a knife?”He shrugs, grinning like it’s the most natural thing in the world.My heart stutters. “No, really. Where did you find that?”I try not to laugh. I mean, he’s three. Maybe he just—found it somewhere? But the next day, it’s a water bottle. Then, a tiny flashlight, somehow with batteries still inside.I don’t even know what else; he’s pulling things out one by one with the pleased grin of a kid who’s just figured out his favorite game.Well, we may just survive this mess after all.Now, if only the universe could have spared me from him. I don’t even know his name, but I know his type: tall, broad, and annoyingly handsome, with an air of calm control that’s out of place in this chaos. Ex-military, if I had to guess, with a voice that’s just as infuriating as his smirk. The man has a habit of showing up at the worst—or best—possible times, with a gun at the ready and secrets buried as deep as those bright green eyes.I mean, he’s probably useful, but I’m trying to keep my eyes on the prize here: survival.For Leo and me.Because, foresight or no foresight, nothing is guaranteed in this new world—except the fact that people like him are trouble.

He doesn’t want to be wanted for bounty, or be a pirate, but if there’s no other choice, he can only become a pirate…..

Let the world turn upside down!

- Description from Novelupdates

It is said that the second daughter of the Yu Family is an Unlucky Star who only appears once in ten years, born with a lowly status and astonishing stupidity.Everyone mocks and bullies her, avoiding her like the plague, except for Master Shi, the famously aloof and distant ice sculpture of the Imperial City, who believes he has found a treasure.The first time Yu Zhi met Shi Wei, she thought he was a cold and abstinent CEO.After spending more time with him, she realized he was actually a paranoid, cunning, possessive, and childish scoundrel.One day, while they were watching an idol drama together, Shi Wei suddenly asked, “Why have you never cried for me?”Yu Zhi replied, “My tear glands aren't very active.”Shi Wei said, “Really?”Later, every night when Yu Zhi was bullied into crying, he would whisper eerily yet contentedly into her ear, “Zhizhi cried for me, I'm so happy.”

This is a ‘rebirth’ story where Chen Rong, the heroine, finds her second chance at life after burning herself to death. Set in the Eastern Jin era when bureaucrats and their lofty yet equally hypocritical and oppressive ideas once ruled the empire, Chen Rong is made to use her past life’s experience to survive and hopefully find happiness this time around.